School of Law pioneer to give deliver address

Sarah Leverette, a pioneer in the field of legal education, will give the keynote address at the University of South Carolina’s seventh annual Women's Leadership Institute Conference Wednesday, April 28, in the Russell House Student Union.

Leverette’s address is set for 11:50 a.m. The conference will run from 7:45 a.m. – 1 p.m.

One of the first female lawyers in South Carolina, Leverette, 90 years old, graduated magna cum laude from the university’s School of Law and was admitted to the South Carolina Bar in 1943. She later became the law school’s first female faculty member, serving as a librarian and instructor for a quarter century. During her pioneering tenure there, she was appointed by Gov. John C. West to serve on the Committee to Revise the Constitution of South Carolina. She wrote the procedural outline for the current method of amending our state constitution.

The conference is open to women faculty, staff and students from all South Carolina colleges and universities interested in learning about and promoting the advancement and success of women in leadership roles.

Sessions will include presentations and panel discussions about the challenges and opportunities women face in their careers. Topics will include financial literacy, conflict management and the Lilly Ledbetter Act, the May 2007 Supreme Court ruling which struck down the rights of employees to see redress for pay discrimination under Title VII.

Panelists for the conference will be Beth Scull, adjunct professor of finance at the Darla Moore School of Business; Sara Pope, director of employee development for the South Carolina Budget & Control Board; and Dr. Michael Wiederman, professor of psychology at Columbia College.